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Interview with Shah Wharton (and a Giveaway!)

Hey all! Today I’m sharing a short chat I had with Shah on the release of her new book: Finding Esta. Before I hop to that, I just want to let you know that there’s a copy to be given away.

But first, the interview:

Welcome to MFB, Shah. For those of my bloggy friends who haven’t met you yet, please share a bit about yourself? Who are you and what makes you tick?

Well, I’m a housewife and mum to a huge German Shepherd pup (10 months old, 36kg and still growing!). I used to work in mental health, and have bipolar disorder, although that’s not what makes me tick. That would have to be my love of stories. Reading them, writing them and watching them. I enjoy living in my head 🙂

It’s wonderful that you don’t let your bipolar disorder define who you are or keep you from doing what you want. What’s the best part about a story for you? Writing, reading or watching.

You know what, that’s a difficult one. I suppose as a writer, I should say writing. And when in the first flush of creating the first draft, I’d agree. But then I do love the theatre and cinema, or being submerged in a warm bed, glass of wine at my side, fabulous book on my Kindle.

So true. A fabulous book on a Kindle is often a lot less stressful than drafting. Speaking of which… what inspired you to start with Finding Esta?

Finding Esta began as a short story about a journalist investigating a haunted house. It grew and grew and within a week it became a monster, within a year it went from my first novel to a series. I fell in love with Luna and the world she discovers. What can I say?

Hahahaha oh yes I know all about short stories becoming monsters. What is your favorite thing about writing Luna?

She’s young, fragile, complicated. There’s a lot of me in her in the first book (not youth – I’m 40!), but she slowly matures, blooms into a woman of strength, despite the rotten start to her life, despite the freaky genetics which rule her, and despite her own insecurities. But my favourite thing about her is that she is both magical and normal.

She sounds amazing. Want to tell us a bit more about where the book can be bought?

Well, I published it on Amazon a few days ago. It went to Review stage (which is normal and can last anything from 12 hours to a few days). But when I checked excitedly earlier today, it had reverted back to Draft? So I had to begin the review process again! Grr! Anyway, you’ll find it once it’s gone live (any day now) on my Amazon Author Page for $2.99. It’s a pretty large book at 330 pages. But for those who are lucky enough to win one of five free e-copies, you’ll get yours for Christmas. 🙂 X

There you have it, lovely people! Here’s some more info on Shah, the book, and the giveaway.

Blurb:

An unusual young woman and fledgling journalist, Luna has various restrictive oddities, all of which prevent any kind of physical intimacy. Abusive parents take pleasure in Luna’s misery and isolation, yet Luna strives to make them proud, to finally earn their elusive love – something she craves almost as much as the painless touch of a lover.

When she learns of a tragic story involving the kidnapping of baby Esta, she jumps at the chance to investigate, dragging her Shadows along for the ride within the murky depths of her mind.

Meanwhile, a dark stranger visits Luna’s dreams and stalks her reality. In lieu of the real thing, their intimate moments excite rather than terrify. Nestled within his presence, she begins to sense an urgent message of danger – a message she struggles to interpret, until they finally meet….

Her investigations lead Luna to a vibrant seaside town, hiding copycat aliens and an underworld of Supernaturals. Here, she comes face-to-face with her own, terrifying identity. Confronted with life-changing decisions and the harshest of truths, Luna questions her sanity, searching for logic, feeling deceived by both.

Is Luna trapped in a newfound supernatural world, or within her own delusions? And will anyone care enough to save her?

Author Biography:

She uses her imagination to write short stories as well as the poetry, but stumbled into her first novel, but falling in love with the character Luna in a short story she wrote 2010. It became grew into Finding Esta, the beginning of Luna’s journey to self-discovery. Finding Esta is her début novel and the first of The Supes Series. Shah began meeting authors and bookworms galore when she began blogging back in 2010. She’s learned a lot about blogging and writing on her adventure, mostly from the awesome advice of her online peer-group.

She also has one short story published ‘The Dead Party’ & two poems published in anthologies.

Her favourite genres include anything dark with fangs and/or that will make her squirm or jump or scream out an expletive. She is an avid Kindle abuser and adores the indie writing community and being part of the e-publishing revolution.

Thanks for having me here Misha. Amazon did sort itself out and Finding Esta is live! Very scary and exciting 🙂 Is it me or have the picture gone? It's probably my crappy internet connection *grr*. Have yourselves a great Christmas guys. X

Thanks for introducing us to Shah. Misha, I wanted to say I feel honored that you are reading my book (I saw in Goodreads that you are doing so). Thank you so much 🙂 May 2013 shine very bright for you (so much so you'll need to buy sunglasses just to keep the dazzle of your career from blinding you).